Department for Transport

Cycling: Pedestrian Areas

lord lexden: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many cyclists breached rule 64 of the Highway Code by riding on a pavement in the most recent period for which figures are available.

baroness sugg: The department does not hold figures for the exact number of breaches, but data from the Ministry of Justice shows that there were 200 prosecutions in 2017 for the offence “Pedal cycle – Riding on footpath”. However, this may not cover all incidents that breached rule 64 of the Highway Code. The figures presented relate to defendants for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.

London North Eastern Railway

lord palmer: To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the cost of the advertising used to promote the rebranding of Virgin Trains to the London North Eastern Railway.

baroness sugg: The cost of advertising connected with brand awareness and the launch of London North Eastern Railway (LNER) was approximately £936,000, which includes print, radio and digital marketing. This activity was critical to ensure that customers were aware that the change from Virgin Trains East Coast to LNER would not involve any disruption to services and that the change did not lead to any loss of revenue. This level of marketing spend is comparable with that of other normal intercity train operators.

Monarch Airlines: Insolvency

lord myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress they have made in (1) seeking recovery of the costs incurred in repatriating customers of Monarch Airlines to the UK, and (2) their negotiations with Greybull and its associates, the owners of the airline, in contributing to repayment to tax payers.

baroness sugg: I refer the noble Lord back to my previous response to his question on 25 April 2018 (HL7119). We are seeking to recover costs of the operation from several third parties, however a final position on cost recoveries is unlikely to be known until the completion of the administration, which may take several months. We are, of course, determined to ensure that as much of taxpayers’ money is recovered as possible. The administrator, KPMG, has since published a progress report for the administration of Monarch Airlines Limited, which is freely available from http://www.insolvency-kpmg.co.uk. This report provides an interim update, which will inform our ongoing negotiation with Greybull. We will in due course be able to report back with more detail.

Railways

lord rosser: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the list of ministerial responsibilities published on 28 June, what are the specific responsibilities under the heading of Rail that come under the Minister of State for Transport.

baroness sugg: The Minister of State for Transport is responsible for rail infrastructure in England and Wales and franchising in England. The Secretary of State has overall responsibility for the policies of the Department for Transport.

Railways: Industrial Relations

lord rosser: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the list of ministerial responsibilities published on 28 June, what are the specific responsibilities under the heading of Rail Industrial Relations that come under the Minister of State for Transport.

baroness sugg: Specific responsibilities are not broken down in this manner. Any dispute between a transport operator and a union is first and foremost a matter for both parties to resolve.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Carbon Emissions

the marquess of lothian: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the 2018 Progress Report to Parliament of the Committee on Climate Change published on 2 June, what measures they intend to take to meet its recommendationthat action must be taken now to avoid unnecessarycosts to the public in the shift to a low-carbon economy.

lord henley: Since the Climate Change Act came into force 10 years ago the UK has proven to be a world-leader in tackling climate change – including by cutting emissions faster than any other G7 country since 1990. As the Committee on Climate Change has recognised, the UK has made strong progress to date in cleaning up the power and waste sectors. Our ambitious Clean Growth Strategy sets out our plans to go further, looking across the whole of the economy and the country. It includes ambitious policies and proposals on housing, business, transport, the natural environment and green finance and our priority is now on delivering these. The Government will respond formally to the Committee on Climate Change’s 2018 progress report in the Autumn.

Motor Vehicles: Manufacturing Industries

baroness altmann: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plansthey have made to ensure that UK car manufacturers can maintain their integrated supply chains after March 2019 if there is no withdrawal deal agreed with the EU.

lord henley: The UK is the second largest market for cars in the EU, with manufacturing supply chains highly integrated across Europe. The Government recognises the importance these integrated supply chains play in maintaining the competitiveness of the UK automotive industry. There has been extensive cross-government engagement with key stakeholders across the automotive sector since the referendum, which has informed and continues to inform our thinking. We are acting to strengthen the domestic supply chain. As part of the Automotive Sector Deal, Government is investing in a new industry-led programme to raise the competitiveness of UK industry suppliers to match the best in Europe. This will support the industry’s ambition to increase the level of content by value in domestically-built vehicles to 50 per cent by 2022.

British Home Stores: Insolvency

lord myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will review their decision not to publish the Insolvency Service report into the failure of BHS following the Financial Reporting Council's announcement that it will publish its report into the auditing of BHS.

lord henley: The Insolvency Service is currently bringing disqualification proceedings against a number of former directors of BHS and connected companies. As these matters may now be tested in court it would not be appropriate to comment or issue further information at this time. Once the disqualification proceedings are complete government will consider what detail it is appropriate to publish, having full regard to any legal restrictions on publication and also the legitimate public interest in the cause of the BHS failure.

Wind Power: Subsidies

baroness jones of whitchurch: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the abolition of subsidies for onshore wind.

lord henley: Onshore wind has deployed very successfully to date – over 12.9GW of installed onshore wind capacity is now operational in the UK. The Government monitors the costs and deployment of onshore wind along with other metrics as part of its ongoing energy policy development and evaluation process. The Government does not believe that new large scale onshore wind power is right for England, but it could be right for other areas, where local public support exists.

Housing: Insulation

baroness jones of whitchurch: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the level of the installation of home insulation as a percentage of the 2012 level; what assessment they have made of whether this is due to withdrawal of incentives; and what steps they are taking to address any decline.

lord henley: The level of home insulation under the Energy Company Obligation (ECO) in 2017 was 5% of the level of home insulation under the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target (CERT) in 2012. 2012 was the final year of the CERT scheme which addressed many of the more cost-effective installations. We have not assessed how much different factors; including less insulation potential, different incentives and targeting have impacted on the different installation rates between the two years. In the Clean Growth Strategy, we stated that we want all fuel poor homes to be upgraded to Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) Band C by 2030 and our aspiration is for as many homes as possible to be EPC Band C by 2035 where practical, cost-effective and affordable. As a step to achieving this alongside ECO, we will develop a long-term trajectory to improve the energy performance standards of privately-rented homes, with the aim of upgrading as many as possible to EPC Band C by 2030 and consult on how social housing can meet similar standards over this period.

Nuclear Fusion: Finance

lord stoddart of swindon: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Statement byLord Henley on 28 June committing a further £86 million to research on nuclear fusion (HLWS782), what is the total amount of financial support given since 1988 to supporting nuclear fusion; what tangible benefits have been achieved so far; and whether they haveevidence that nuclear fusion will produce significant amounts of electrical energy at commercially viable cost in the foreseeable future.

lord henley: In the 30 years since 1988, based on information provided by UKAEA, we estimate that total UK government funding for UK fusion research has totalled around £900m. A further approx. £1.6bn funding from EU sources has been spent on fusion research in the UK over the same time frame. Since 2007, and as part of the UK’s contribution to the general EU budget, the UK has helped fund the EU’s contribution towards the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) fusion research project, based in France. The EU’s support for ITER totals around £5.4bn to date. UK fusion research has made the UK a world leader in the field and created emerging spin-out industries in areas such as robotics, material sciences, and reactor design. The UK’s Culham Centre for Fusion Energy is a global hub for scientific talent, and the Joint European Torus fusion reactor based at Culham holds the world record for sustaining an energy producing fusion reaction. UK participation in ITER has already enabled UK companies to win around £430m of ITER construction contracts with a further £1bn of contracts being targeted. Most major nations invest significantly in fusion energy research due to the transformative potential of the technology to provide a virtually limitless clean energy source. ITER is due to complete construction in 2025 and aims to produce net energy from a fusion reaction for the first time, and preparations for a demonstration fusion power plant to follow ITER are already underway. The Government supports UK fusion research to ensure we are positioned to benefit commercially from a technology the UK has pioneered for several decades.

Hinkley Point C Power Station

baroness featherstone: To ask Her Majesty's Government what will be the process for the local community to access the Hinkley Point C Community Fund once it becomes operational.

lord henley: The then Minister of State for Energy's 2013 Written Ministerial Statement states that Community Benefit for Hinkley Point C is not due to begin paying out until the plant is generating electricity, scheduled to be 2025. We are currently looking at the implementation of Community Benefit, including the process for accessing payments.

Boilers: Standards

baroness featherstone: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the Building Regulations Establishments research finding that no boilers sold in the UK meet the minimum Energy Related Products efficiency requirement of 92 per cent as legislated for since the beginning of April under Boiler Plus.

lord henley: We do not recognise this claim, and BRE have confirmed that they do not agree with, and have never stated that, “no boilers sold in the UK meet the minimum ErP efficiency requirements of 92 per cent as legislated for”. I can confirm that when the standards were set the majority of boilers on the market met or exceeded this minimum efficiency requirement. Since coming into force, all boilers installed in England must meet this standard.

Energy: Competition

lord taylor of warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether reforms which aim to make the energy market more competitive may breach new data protection rules; and whether they have alternative plans toimprove competitiveness in that market.

lord henley: The Government will ensure any market interventions that are introduced to improve competition in the energy retail market are compliant with data protection laws; for example, our consideration of the interaction between the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) and the retail energy Midata project. In addition, Ofgem is taking forward a range of measures, including their disengaged customer database, customer engagement prompts, and the faster and more reliable switching programme to make the energy retail market more competitive. Ofgem has stated that the privacy and protection of consumer information will be fundamental under any such reforms and that they will ensure their reforms are compliant with data protection laws.

Energy Companies Obligation

baroness jones of whitchurch: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to publish the ECO3 Order setting out new energy efficiency measures; and whether they will do so before the current ECO scheme ends on 30 September.

lord henley: The Department is planning to lay the Energy Company Obligation 2018 Order before Parliament for approval shortly.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

West Bank: Planning Permission

lord hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to give effect to their concern about the difficulties experienced by Palestinians in getting building permissions for houses and necessary infrastructure in East Jerusalem and Area C of the West Bank.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: We continue to urge the Government of Israel to develop improved mechanisms for zoning, planning and granting permission in Area C for the benefit of the Palestinian population, including by facilitating local Palestinian participation in such processes. Additionally the UK has also allocated £1.1 million to support essential infrastructure for vulnerable Palestinians in Area C. We are supporting four communities, comprising of nearly 500 Palestinian families living in Area C, to remain on their land through improved infrastructure and access to community services, including education and health, in areas which have an outline plan in the Israeli approval process.

Israel: Gaza

baroness tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 25 June (HL8529), when they were made aware of the underwater barrier being constructed by Israel at the northern border of Gaza; and what action they intend to take concerning this matter.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: ​The Foreign and Commonwealth Office became aware of this issue following media reports in May 2017. Defence Minister Lieberman announced that the barrier would prevent Hamas operatives infiltrating Israel by sea. We have not raised this issue with the Israeli authorities.

Hamas

baroness tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 25 June (HL8533), when they last discussed with the leaders of Hamas the position of that organisation on Israel.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: ​The UK retains a policy of no contact with Hamas in its entirety.

Israel: Palestinians

baroness tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 26 June (HL8587), whether they will now answer the question asked, namely whether they support the right of Palestinians to security and self-defence.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: ​Every Israeli and Palestinian has the right to live in peace and security. We therefore continue to call on Israel, as the Occupying Power, to uphold its obligations under international law in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and stress the importance of the Israeli security forces providing appropriate protection to the Palestinian civilian population.As a demonstration of our commitment to both sides' right to security, the UK continues to provide the Palestinian Authority with professional support in helping to develop its security institutions.

Department for International Development

West Bank: Infrastructure

lord hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government how much of the £1.1 million they allocated for essential infrastructure for vulnerable Palestinians in Area C of the West Bank has yet to be spent.

lord bates: In 2016 DFID fully disbursed £900,000 for its project to support Palestinian development in Area C. An additional £200,000 provided by the FCO has recently been approved for a separate project that also aims to support the infrastructure of vulnerable Palestinians in Area C. This funding will be disbursed in due course. This combined £1.1 million of UK financial assistance supports communities in Area C to remain on their land through improved infrastructure and access to community services, including education and health.

Burma: Internally Displaced People

baroness northover: To ask Her Majesty's Government what meetings they have held with Karen civil society organisations from Burma regarding the withdrawal of British and other financial support to internally displaced people in Karen state.

lord bates: DFID has not withdrawn funding to internally displaced people in Karen State. DFID held discussions with Karen civil society organisations in 2017 setting out new arrangements through which they could receive funding. Some organisations have chosen not to apply for this funding.

Burma: Overseas Aid

baroness northover: To ask Her Majesty's Government which companies have provided consultancy and advice services to the Department for International Development regarding Burma in(1) 2016–17, and (2) 2017–18; and what was the value of each of those contracts with those companies.

lord bates: DFID Burma has not commissioned consultancy and advice services. However, some of the programmes that DFID supports have commissioned consultancy, particularly for design and evaluation purposes.

Refugees: Health Services

baroness tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to seek to ensure that people with disabilities in refugee camps are able to engage with sexual and reproductive health and rights services.

lord bates: The UK is proud to be a world leader to ensure no one affected by humanitarian crises is left behind. At the London Family Planning Summit in July 2017 we put the needs of women and girls in humanitarian crises centre stage, and on 24 July 2018 the UK will host a Global Disability Summit to galvanise the global effort to address disability inclusion, including for communities affected by conflict and crises. All bilateral UK humanitarian funding considers sexual and reproductive health and rights, and requires that the people with disabilities are measured and considered. DFID is also funding research into disability in humanitarian contexts looking at the use of the Washington Group Short Set of Questions, a measurement tool which supports the disaggregation of data based on disability. This research will enable humanitarian organisations to collect more, and better, data so we can better address the needs of people with disabilities in all humanitarian programmes, including those providing sexual and reproductive healthcare for refugees.

Department for Education

Apprentices: Taxation

baroness garden of frognal: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the lifting of restrictions on the transfer of apprenticeship levy funds between employers means that an employer can transfer 10per cent of their total levy funds to each employer in receipt.

lord agnew of oulton: Levy payers will now be able to transfer funds to any number of other employers, within their maximum 10% transferable allowance. This change does not mean that an employer can transfer 10% of their total levy funds to each employer in receipt. The 10% annual transfer allowance represents the maximum total value of funds an employer is able to transfer within a year.

Ministry of Justice

Prostitution

lord mccoll of dulwich: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Keen of Elie on 8 May (HL7173), how many people were (1) arrested, (2) charged, and (3) convicted, under section 53A of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 in 2017; and what penaltieswere imposed in cases of conviction.

lord keen of elie: There have been zero defendants convicted under section 53A of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 in 2017. Arrests and Charging data are not held by the Ministry of Justice.

Home Office

Immigrants: Detainees

lord bassam of brighton: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people were wrongfully detained under immigration powers between 2012 and 2017; and, of those, how many were part of the Windrush generation.

baroness williams of trafford: Information on the number of people detained wrongfully under immigration powers between 2012-13 and 2016-17 is set out in Sir Philip Rutnam’s letter to the Rt Hon Yvette Cooper MP, dated 25 June 2018 and that is deposited in the House Library. I am arranging for a copy of that letter to be provided to Lord Bassam of Brighton.The Home Office is reviewing all cases of immigration detention, dating back to 2002, of Caribbean Commonwealth nationals now aged over 45 (i.e. born before 1 January 1973), to establish whether any of those people could have entered the UK prior to 1973 and therefore might be protected by the Immigration Act 1971. As the Home Secretary told the Joint Committee on Human Rights on 6 June 2018, that work is due to be completed by the middle of July 2018. Its findings will be reported to Parliament within the regular series of updates, to the Home Affairs Select Committee, to which the Home Secretary has made an explicit commitment.

Deportation

lord bassam of brighton: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many Home Office officials received a bonus payment for securing immigration removals in the period 2012 to 2017.

baroness williams of trafford: To collate and supply the infomation requested would exceed the disproportionate cost threshold.The nearest approximation the number of bonuses and how those work, for staff working in Immigration Enforcement and its predecessor UK Border Agency was set out in a letter dated 25 June 2018 from the Home Office Permanent Secretary to Rt Hon Yvette Cooper MP. A copy of that letter was deposited in the Library, and I am arranging for Lord Bassam of Brighton to receive a copy.

Counter-terrorism

baroness jones of moulsecoomb: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Prevent strategy is supported by a list of extremist symbols and flags; and if so, how an organisation can appeal against inclusion in such a list.

baroness williams of trafford: The Prevent strategy does not contain a list of extremist symbols or flags.

Refugees: Syria

the marquess of lothian: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people have been resettled in the UK under the Syrian Vulnerable Person Resettlement Programme to date; and how much that Programme has cost to date.

baroness williams of trafford: The Home Office is committed to publishing data in an orderly way as part of the regular quarterly Immigration Statistics, in line with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics. Latest statistics published on 24 May confirmed that a total of 11,649 people have been resettled under the Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme (VPRS) since it began.The statistics are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/immigration-statistics-quarterly-releaseAt 31 December 2017, VPRS expenditure of £157.5m had been recorded.

Slavery

lord mccoll of dulwich: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many victims of human trafficking and modern slaverywere granted discretionary leave to remain in the UK in each financial year from 2009–10 to date; and of those how many were (1) EEA nationals, and (2) non-EEA nationals.

baroness williams of trafford: The specific information you have requested is not currently published. Statistics on the total number of people granted discretionary leave for all reasons can be found online at the following address:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/immigration-statistics-april-to-june-2017-data-tablesThe National Crime Agency publishes statistics on referrals into the National Referral Mechanism on a quarterly basis. These reports are available via the following links and the documents are attached for ease of reference.http://www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/publications/national-referral-mechanism-statistics https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/2017-uk-annual-report-on-modern-slavery 



2017 - Annual Report - Modern Slavery 
(PDF Document, 711.69 KB)




Tables Sponsorship April-Jun 2017
(Excel SpreadSheet, 503.33 KB)

Treasury

Bank Services: Fees and Charges

lord kennedy of southwark: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment have they made of the overdraft fees and other charges levied on current account banking customers in the UK.

lord bates: The Government has not made an assessment of overdraft fees and other charges on current accounts. Decisions on overdraft fees and charges are a commercial matter for firms. However, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) requires firms to treat their customers fairly and has broad and robust powers to enforce breaches of its rules. As part of its ongoing work on high-cost credit, the FCA is currently consulting on measures that aim to secure greater protection for consumers using overdrafts. The FCA is also considering current accounts and overdraft pricing as part of its wider Strategic Review of Retail Business Banking Models. The Government supports the FCA’s work in this area and will continue to work with it to ensure that all banking customers are treated fairly.

Credit: Interest Rates

lord kennedy of southwark: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the rules surrounding high cost credit and the fairness of the present situation for customers.

lord bates: The Government has fundamentally reformed regulation of the consumer credit market, including high-cost credit, transferring regulatory responsibility from the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) on 1 April 2014. This more robust regulatory system is helping to deliver the Government’s vision for a well-functioning and sustainable consumer credit market which is able to meet the needs of all consumers. The Government welcomed the FCA’s recent update on high-cost credit, including a proposal to cap the cost of rent-to-own. The Government will continue to work with the FCA to ensure that all high-cost credit customers are treated fairly.

Gold: Prices

lord kennedy of southwark: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the reasons for the fall in the price of gold over the last six months.

lord bates: Her Majesty’s Government does not comment on movements in financial markets, including the price of gold.

Financial Markets

lord kennedy of southwark: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the warning by the Bank of England regarding the impact of Brexit on the derivatives markets.

lord bates: As set out in the Bank of England’s Financial Stability Report, derivative markets could be impacted by the UK’s exit from the EU. The government has committed to legislate, if necessary, to give UK regulators the power to issue ‘temporary permissions’ for EEA financial services firms to continue operating in the UK for a limited period after withdrawal. However, as the FPC notes in its June 2018 report, “In some areas, such as derivatives contracts, actions would be needed by both UK and EU authorities to preserve the continuity of existing cross-border contracts”. More broadly, as the Chancellor said on 20 December 2017: “the government is strongly supportive of continued engagement and cooperation between UK and EU regulators to protect financial stability”. HM Treasury and the Commission announced on 27 April that the Bank of England and the European Central Bank will convene a technical working group on risk management in the period around 30 March 2019 in the area of financial services. The working group is up and running and is meeting regularly. This demonstrates a commitment from both the EU and UK to work together to manage shared risks, and will help provide further confidence to financial services firms and their customers as we exit the EU. In addition, the Chancellor has proposed a new partnership that will focus on developing a mutually agreed and objective framework which maximises the provision of the most important international financial services offerings between the UK and the EU, in a way that is enduring, reliable and ensures financial stability risks can properly be managed.

NHS: Northern Ireland

lord lexden: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the reply by Lord Duncan of Springbank on 25 June (HL Deb, col 5), what additional funding will be provided to the health services in Northern Ireland under the government’s £20 billion funding plan for the NHS; and when it will be allocated to health and social care in Northern Ireland.

lord bates: The final Barnett consequentials for all three devolved administrations will be confirmed at upcoming Fiscal Events and at the next Spending Review, as per the usual process set out in the Statement of Funding Policy. As a result of the government’s funding plan for the NHS in England, indicative additions to the Northern Ireland block grant are set out in the table below. £ billion2019-202020-212021-222022-232023-24Northern Ireland0.200.310.450.590.76 This information was set out in the paper deposited in the House of Commons Library (DEP2018-0598) by the Department of Health and Social Care on 18 June 2018 and is available here: http://data.parliament.uk/DepositedPapers/Files/DEP2018-0598/NHS_Settlement-Numbers_corrected.docx. Funding decisions would be best taken by a restored Northern Ireland Executive. In the interim it will be for the Northern Ireland Civil Service to allocate funding.

Gambling

lord chadlington: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many meetings have taken place between HM Treasury officials and gambling companies, or their representatives, in the past year.

lord bates: As is the case with other business sectors, officials meet regularly with stakeholders from across the gambling sector to hear their views on the gambling market, and a range of economic and policy issues. Officials also meet with other groups such as the Gambling Commission to discuss a range of issues including gambling harm as part of policy development.

Cash Dispensing

lord kennedy of southwark: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of ATMs available in the UK; and of the impact on communities of any reduction in the number of ATMs.

lord bates: The Government recognises that widespread free access to cash remains extremely important to the day-to-day lives of many consumers and businesses in the UK. Government has been engaging and will continue to engage with the regulators and industry, including LINK, to ensure that it is maintained. At Spring Statement, Government also launched a public Call for Evidence on cash and digital payments which, amongst other things, seeks to find out how cash usage and need varies by region.The Government established the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) in 2015 with a statutory objective to ensure that the UK’s payment systems work in the interests of their users. As part of this, the PSR is monitoring developments within ATM provision. The PSR has undertaken work to understand the impact on the provision of free-to-use ATMs that a reduction in interchange fees may have and a summary of the findings can be found on their website. The Government has therefore not made its own assessment of the impact.The PSR have also set out three requirements of LINK: that LINK must maintain the current geographical spread of ATMs; that any changes made to interchange fees must be incremental to allow LINK to monitor the impact and take action if the impact is not as expected; and for a greater focus on LINK’s financial inclusion programme, to continue to fill gaps in the network. The PSR has committed to using its powers to act should LINK behave in a way that conflicts with its statutory objectives.Regarding the number of ATMs available in the UK, this data is publicly available on the LINK website. It shows that, as of 2017, there were around 69,600 ATMs on the LINK network.

Utilities: Managers

lord kennedy of southwark: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the bonuses paid to senior managers of utility companies.

lord bates: Her Majesty’s Government has conducted no formal assessment of the remuneration packages of senior staff in privately owned utility companies. However, the Government has set out a range of legislative and business-led measures which will improve corporate governance and give workers and investors a stronger voice, including at utility companies. The Government published last month a draft statutory requirement that introduces a number of new corporate governance reforms. These include a new requirement on UK quoted companies to disclose and explain each year the ratio of their CEO’s total remuneration to the average remuneration of their UK employees. The statutory instrument also obliges very large private companies, including utility companies where they are unquoted, to report each year on how they are ensuring good corporate governance. Subject to Parliamentary approval, the relevant secondary legislation will come into force from the start of 2019. This will sit alongside steps already being taken by the independent regulators of the utilities sectors to encourage these companies to adopt strong corporate governance arrangements. For example, Ofwat have recently consulted on new measures to improve corporate governance in the water sector, including measures to assess the link between executive remuneration, dividend payments and performance delivery for customers. Although these regulators operate independently of government, government engages with them closely to ensure they are able to carry out their functions effectively. Additionally, the Government has invited James Wates to lead a business and wider society coalition group to develop corporate governance principles suitable for use by large private companies. These principles are currently being consulted on with a view to finalising them by the end of the year.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Gambling: Suicide

lord chadlington: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the care available for families and individuals who are affected by suicides connected with gambling.

lord ashton of hyde: An error has been identified in the written answer given on 12 July 2018.The correct answer should have been:

Providing better information and support to people bereaved by suicide is a key area for action in the Cross-Government Suicide Prevention Strategy for England. Effective suicide bereavement services should be provided through local partnerships between local authorities, NHS organisations and voluntary and charitable sector providers. The NHS Choices website provides advice on accessing support for people who have been bereaved. The charity GambleAware, which funds research, education and treatment for gambling addiction, has published a Strategic Delivery Plan for 2018-2020. This includes plans to commission specialist support for people who suffer bereavement because of the problem gambling of a family member or friend.

lord taylor of holbeach: Providing better information and support to people bereaved by suicide is a key area for action in the Cross-Government Suicide Prevention Strategy for England. Effective suicide bereavement services should be provided through local partnerships between local authorities, NHS organisations and voluntary and charitable sector providers. The NHS Choices website provides advice on accessing support for people who have been bereaved. The charity GambleAware, which funds research, education and treatment for gambling addiction, has published a Strategic Delivery Plan for 2018-2020. This includes plans to commission specialist support for people who suffer bereavement because of the problem gambling of a family member or friend.